The January transfer window can often be an underwhelming affair at a time when transfers are difficult to get over the line, but a busy month culminating in a frantic deadline day which threw up plenty of intriguing moves and late gambles. Here we take a look at some of the winners and losers from the final day of the window.
Winners
At one point it seemed he would be the day’s laughing stock after flying to Barcelona without Arsenal’s permission and with the deal on the brink of collapse as talks stalled over who would pay his exorbitant wages. The Odemwingie memes were in full flow when, at around 8pm, Barcelona president Joan Laporta said he was still hopeful the transfer would be completed.
The deal is still not confirmed as we write but it is widely reported to have been completed and is expected to be announced on Tuesday. Arsenal will no longer have to pay Aubameyang’s salary while Barca have secured a proven goalscorer on a free transfer, but the real winner is Aubameyang himself, whose gamble to fly to Barcelona and push for the move paid off. He has got away from a club and a manager who marginalised him, joining a European giant in desperate need of a prolific No9, and his hefty wage packet has stayed intact too.
Two fading forces trying to rebuild: Aubameyang and Barcelona might just turn out to be a match made in transfer heaven.
Spurs were beaten to the punch on several deals in this window, most notably Liverpool’s late swoop for Luis Diaz, but deadline day was undoubtedly a successful one for their demanding manager.
Out went a raft of players he didn’t much fancy: Spurs’ record signing Tanguy Ndombele and fellow midfielders Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil were loaned to Lyon, Villarreal and Valencia respectively (the trio cost Tottenham an eye-watering £120m), while Dele Alli was sold to Everton. Conte wants robust reliability in midfield – think of his Matic-Kante partnership which anchored Chelsea to the 2016-17 title – and has been swift to identify those he doesn’t trust at his new club.
In came two players from Juventus whom Conte knows well from his time in Serie A. Rodrigo Bentancur is the complete midfielder with the physicality to handle the Premier League and excellent technical ability, and at 24 the Uruguay international still has plenty of time to improve. Bentancur cost a reasonable initial £17m and has signed a four-year deal. Dejan Kulusevski is a grafting winger who leaves Juve initially on loan but will join Spurs permanently after 18 months should all go well, for a fee of around £30m. The 21-year-old Swedish international has great potential and should get more opportunities to show it at Spurs than in Turin.
It may not have been the perfect window for Spurs but Daniel Levy and managing director Fabio Paratici have been proactive and accommodating for Conte, shifting out out expensive disappointments when other hierarchies might reasonably have asked their world-class coach to rejuvenate rather than replace. Acquiring two promising recruits more in the Conte mould is a decent return in his first transfer window; the manager will want more in the summer, but the one he cannot say is that the boardroom has failed to back him.
Everton.
An intriguing 48 hours at Goodison Park saw Frank Lampard appointed as manager and Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek arrive via transfer and loan moves respectively. Depending on your outlook, it’s either a tantalising prospect or three attacking midfielders who haven’t been seen in their prime for quite some time.
One thing Everton fans bemoaned under Rafa Benitez was his staid five-at-the-back formation and they are likely to get something more attacking from Lampard, whose new recruits would suggest he could favour a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. The potential prospect is mouthwatering: Alli and Van de Beek can both play as No 8s just as Lampard did or as a No 10 behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who would surely benefit from their intelligent runs in behind.
It is all a bit of a gamble, but then Van de Beek is only a loan deal from Manchester United, while Dele’s transfer is initially free and is structured in such a way that Everton will only pay if he delivers consistently for the club. What is clear is that Lampard’s appointment was an important factor – Van de Beek said his conversation with the new manager was highly influential in his decision to choose Everton, with other clubs interested in his services – and there could hardly be a better former player to guide two attacking midfielders in need of a fresh start.
Losers
West Ham.
The Hammers wanted Jesse Lingard to return to East London on loan but it was always going to be an unlikely move given their rivalry with Manchester United in the hunt for Champions League places this season. A raft of other talented players were linked with a move to the London Stadium but there were no notable incomings this month, leaving fans frustrated at a time when David Moyes’ team are flying high and in position to kick on.
Some reports suggest a last-gasp £60m transfer for Benfica striker Darwin Nunez was rejected, and the lack of a new forward was undoubtedly the big disappointment come 11pm on deadline day. Michail Antonio will continue to shoulder much of the attacking burden in what is set to be a busy few months domestically and in Europe, and Moyes will need careful planning and plenty of luck to keep him fit and firing.
Arsenal.
‘Losers’ is perhaps a little strong – Arsenal did at least offload a draining asset in Aubameyang and someone who was proving a distraction for Mikel Arteta off the field – but it is hard to escape the sense that the Gunners now look a little light in attack after no replacement was sought. Alexandre Lacazette will continue to lead the line while Eddie Nketiah and even winger Gabriel Martinelli can deputise in the No9 role. But the average age of an inexperienced squad has skewed even younger, and there will be an even greater reliance on their rising stars over the course of the coming months.
Perhaps most concerningly, Arsenal’s determined shipping of fringe players during the window has recouped very little in the way of transfers sales or loan fees, and Aubameyang’s free switch to Barcelona is yet another example. A necessary clearing of the decks has come at a cost, and without any significant additions it will be down to a threadbare squad to secure champions league football next season.
Jesse Lingard.
Lingard clearly wanted to depart Manchester United this window, with a return to West Ham his preference while Newcastle also showed a strong interest, but instead he will be forced to see out the rest of his contract at Old Trafford where he has spent most of his time watching from the sidelines, with only a few occasional late cameos in recent weeks under manager Ralf Rangnick.
The departure of Anthony Martial and police investigation into Mason Greenwood could potentially open up more first-team opportunities and the possibility of a revival in fortunes at United. But ultimately Lingard was denied the move he craved, at the start of a year which ends with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, something the England international has targeted after narrowly missing out on a place at Euro 2020.